Acapella group Five in Harmony will be one of the opening acts at the 'Three the Lord's Way' concerts, featuring Yolanda Adams, Kirk Franklin and Donnie McClurkin. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer TWO UNKNOWNS will have the chance to give a great boost to their budding careers when they open 'Three The Lord's Way'. The show, which will take place in early February, will feature three of gospels most popular artistes in Yolanda Adams, Donnie McClurkin and Kirk Franklin.
'Three The Lord's Way' will be held in two parts and is the Jamaican leg of The Hopeville Tour. The trio will hit Kingston on February 8 and Montego Bay the following day. 'Three the Lord's Way' will also be shown via closed circuit television in Portland and St. Elizabeth.
The two budding acts, Radic and Five In Harmony, had a chance to showcase their work at the launch of the event on Tuesday evening at The Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in St. Andrew.
Radic, a gospel deejay, has already released his first single, Ah Who? When the diminutive young man walked to the podium and declared that the song had been penned because of his love of Jamaica and his despair at what was happening to the country, his manner was very mild. His voice, as he spoke gently to the audience, seemed to quite match his stature. This voice was dramatically changed to a much more gravelly and aggressive one for his performance.
Five in Harmony was a complete contrast. The a capella group has something of a barbershop quality to their sound. They performed two songs, He Was There All The Time and That Could Have Been Me.
Both acts are managed by Le Image Productions.
Nadine Blair of Love 101 hosted the launch and explained that Hopeville is only a mental place, which she described as a spiritual village on tour. 'Three the Lord's Way' is being produced by Premium Entertainment, in association with Love 101 FM, Love TV and Le Image Production.
The show is expected to get a very high turnout, due to the calibre of the three major acts slated for the event. Vice-president of Premium Entertainment, Errol Service, noted that all the other 35 legs of the tour had been sold out. He hoped the same would occur with the Jamaican leg.
The Kingston show will take place at the outdoor garden at the Family Church on the Rock, which organisers say can hold up to 10,000 persons. Of course, such a turnout may mean problems with parking, especially at that venue. However, Cheryl Neufville-Crooks, the chief executive officer of Le Image, assured that the parking problem would be stemmed by a shuttle service. The service will also be offered at the Montego Bay Beach Park location of the second show.
Minister of Tourism the Honourable Aloun Assamba provided the greetings for the launch. Minister Assamba made sure to point to the economic significance of shows such as 'Three the Lord's Way'. She remarked that the marketing of Jamaica as a destination for more than fun in the sun needs a calendar replete with such shows. The Minister also noted that 'Three the Lord's Way' promises to be an 'unforgettable' experience and it is therefore one of the programmes that the Minister would like to have on the calendar in the attempt to go after the spiritual market for tourists. Minister Assamba argues that the show will complement events such as the 'Fun in the Son' festival, which takes place in March.
She also argued that the show should be seen as more than a marketing strategy. Minister Assamba argued that it was not only a tribute to Jamaica's fight to overcome adversity, but a celebration of what Jamaica has to offer as well. Her hope, she declared, was that the show would prove that Jamaica is not merely a 'haven' for 'negative vibes' and 'people who want to block roads'.
